Tom Cruise has been making Mission: Impossible movies for nearly 30 years. As the eighth film swiftly approaches its theatrical release, many assume this will be the last M:I film for Cruise. While the action star is starting to age out of such roles, if this seemingly final M:I film performs exceptionally well, there’s definitely a chance another film will happen. But first people have to go see Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in droves.
Table of Contents
The Plot
What was originally known as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two is the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. However, you don’t need to have seen the first movie to understand what’s going on in Final Reckoning. This is done through lengthy exposition dumps that happen multiple times throughout the movie. They slow the film down to a crawl and are easily the worst part of Final Reckoning, but at least they allow the film to somewhat stand on its own.
Following Dead Reckoning, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is tasked with saving the world from the Entity, a rogue AI that has taken control of most of the world’s nuclear arsenal. Hunt is joined by his tried and true team of Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), and Paris (Pom Klementieff). While everyone on the team gets to have their moments, this is very much a film about Ethan Hunt and his actions.
There are a number of callbacks to previous M:I films. The more you remember about those films, the more emotionally connected you’ll be to Final Reckoning. Even if you’ve never seen a Mission: Impossible film, you’ll still understand what’s going on without too much trouble, but you may not be as emotionally invested in the proceedings.
Action and Pacing
Almost any time Hollywood tries to use an AI as the primary adversary in a movie, there are problems. Most of the issues with Dead Reckoning came down to using the Entity as the main villain. Those issues continue in Final Reckoning, as the M:I franchise inches closer and closer to The Fast and the Furious status, forcing moviegoers to turn their brains off because of the inhuman feats Ethan Hunt and his team are performing on screen.
The long exposition dumps are a significant drag on the pacing of the film, but the lengthy action sequences help to keep the audience engaged. In typical Tom Cruise style, there’s a lot of running, but in Final Reckoning there are also a number of instances in which Ethan Hunt should be dead or at least heavily injured, yet he comes out with only a few scratches. Early on this was a draw of the franchise, but it’s getting to the point where plot convenience has more to do with the success of the mission than Ethan’s God-like survival abilities.
The Performances
Tom Cruise has been playing Ethan Hunt long enough that he could probably deliver a compelling performance in his sleep. In fact, everyone in the film is on their A-game. The problem is how each character is utilized. Emotional beats surrounding Luther and Benji are poorly handled, primarily due to a lackluster script during some of their scenes. While Paris has a bit more dialogue than she did in Dead Reckoning, she is still significantly underutilized.
Gabriel (Esai Morales) as the secondary villain to the Entity is uninspired, and never really makes a case for being the extreme threat that the movie wants him to be. Meanwhile, some great actors only get a few lines of dialogue, such as Hannah Waddingham as Admiral Neely, Nick Offerman as General Sidney, and Tramell Tillman as Captain Bledsoe.
The Final Verdict
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is nearly three hours in length, with most of that runtime taken up by elaborate action sequences. There are absolutely moments in which you’ll hold your breath wondering if Ethan and his team survive the next scene, but with pacing issues, and a few missed emotional beats, Final Reckoning falls behind Dead Reckoning in terms of overall enjoyment. Final Reckoning is still the definition of a summer blockbuster, and certainly an enjoyable time at the movies, but it’s not the epic finale many were hoping for from such a long-running and entertaining franchise.
About “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”
Synopsis: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that can destroy mankind.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Angela Bassett
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 2 Hours, 49 Minutes
Releases: May 23, 2025
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
